Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, And A Sun God From Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Grant Morrison is a fascinating guy, a talented writer, and very very knowledgeable about cape and cowl comics. This is my second time reading his terrific "Supergods" and it really spoke to me, even more than the first time. He's got some wild views, such as his lengthy anecdote about a shamanic drug trip in Kathmandu where he was taken to a higher dimension by other-worldly beings. If you're rolling your eyes at that, this might not be the book for you, though there are plenty of insights into his own work (and recommendations and analyses of his contemporaries) that make this an easy recommendation to any casual comics fan. But if you're looking for a brief history of comics as well as a spiritual and occultist journey through the past thirty or so years, there's no better book than this one. Obviously essential for Morrison-ites, and makes me want to re-assess "The Invisibles." An idiosyncratic - certainly unashamedly personal - history of the US superhero comic industry, merging into autobiographical elements where relevant. I won't delve into Morrison's discussions of drugs and transcendence, that's well covered elsewhere, but suffice to say the author has developed his own personal mythology around the creative process. For me, the most striking and compelling themes were those touching on the value of that process, and the way ideas find their way onto the printed page. He also accurately charts and predicts the infiltration of four-color comics into the mainstream of popular entertainment.If you are interested in the medium, you should probably read it.
What do You think about Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, And A Sun God From Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human (2011)?
It's an interesting story and analysis for why we have superheroes. I don't know what else to say.
—Ele
Grant Morrison really likes Grant Morrison. Luckily, so do I.
—lucasluckless
Grant Morrison really needs to stop reading his own press.
—Raoull
